Spain

Capital of Spain: Madrid
Population of Spain: 46,754,784
Total area of Spain: 505,370 km2

Spain is a moderately large country located in Southwestern Europe. Its flag consists of three horizontal stripes of red, followed by yellow followed by blue. Its emblem is located in the middle of the flag. The emblem consists of a banner with a castle, lion and designs with two pillars on each side and a crown on top.

Spain population

The population of Spain is around 46 million individuals. It has both urban and rural peoples and enjoys a low population density. The capital city is Madrid and most people live around the west coast. A total of 88 percent of the people in Spain are Spaniards. The population is increasing after a decline in the 1980s. There are many immigrants, including those from Latin America, North Africa, Eastern Europe and in Sub-Saharan Africa. It recently granted citizenship to many of its immigrants. The main language is Spanish, which is known as Castilian Spanish. It is the only official language of the country but there are a number of minority languages spoken by a few of the population. Much of the country is Roman Catholic.  

History of Spain

Spain was occupied since prehistory. It was an ideal location and so it was invaded many times over. It became a unified country in the 1400s and was a Catholic Monarchy. This was followed by a Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. It soon became a global empire with many territories all over the world. It is currently a democratic state with a constitutional monarchy. It was not strongly involved in WWI and WWII and enjoys the twelfth best economy in the world.

Spain Tourism

Spain’s tourism has been booming for quite some time now, especially during the summer when tourists from UK, Germany, France and Scandinavia flock to the country for a holiday. Spain was among the top two most visited countries in the world in 2007. Summer time is busy for Spain because many tourists travel to experience its summer resorts, beaches and spas. The most popular are Costa Brava, Costa Calida, Costa Tropical and Costa del Sol among many others.

Since Spain’s history was a mix of civilizations, the country has now become an important place of world history and culture. UNESCO has even named thirteen of its cities as World Heritage Sites like Toledo, Laguna, Tarragona and Santiago de Compostela. Its major cities, Madrid and Barcelona also stand out among the other cities in Spain. They are centers of culture, history, education, fashion, sports, arts and entertainment.

In Spain, people normally shake hands when they are introduced. Acquaintances or people who have developed a certain level of friendship usually embrace or kiss each other on both cheeks as a greeting. Men embrace each other or pat each other on the shoulder while the women kiss each other on the cheeks. If they invite you to their home, always bring something for the hosts like flowers, chocolates, wine or pastries. You can also bring a gift for the children if they have any because they will greatly appreciate it. Once you enter the house, wait for them to invite you to sit. Otherwise, remain standing.